Corporate takeover of US

By November 11, 2017US Politics

Now it seems that Rupert Murdoch is attempting to buy CNN1, while trying to offload 21st Century Fox to Disney2. This is suspected to be because Murdoch is after some credibility, given that Fox News has very little. Murdoch is close to Trump and is a mentor to his son-in-law Jared Kushner3.  That is part of the reason why Murdoch’s outlets have supported Trump to wild excess4. The other reason is that Murdoch’s Fox News, like Trump, does not understand the difference between the truth and lies. Trump was elected by people who gullibly believed what he said; that he was going to ‘drain the swamp’, create more jobs, bring back coal, stop illegal immigration and assorted other bull-stories. They did not have the ability to realise that Trump was the antithesis of what they thought they were getting. Trump has done anything but drain the swamp. Indeed, he has employed millionaire and billionaire friends, associates and lobbyists.

The US electoral system also lends itself to corruption, as most of the members of congress are dependent on corporate donations to fund their elections. This is demonstrated by the inability of congress to pass any sensible gun control measures, even to having background checks, or controlling ‘bump-stocks’ (which turn semi-automatic military grade assault-rifles into fully automatic machine guns; as used by the Las Vegas nutter)5. Many members of congress receive donations from the National Rifle Association (NRA), and of course, dance to the NRA tune after every mass shooting.

Murdoch’s move on CNN and Trump’s election, with Murdoch’s support, are all part of the creeping takeover of the United States by the corporate class. Despite what Trump said to the gullible trumpettes during the election campaign, and he used to say to his ever-diminishing rallies, he is mainly concerned with decreasing his own tax burden, and that of his family and associates and their corporations. They also have decreased environmental regulations with the aim of increasing corporate profits to the detriment of everyone else. They sell this as being all about growth and jobs, as if trickle-down economics was still something other than a con by the wealthy to increase their wealth at the expense of everyone else. All it has done is increased the profits of corporations and the disparity between rich and poor6.

If this continues, the US will end up much like Russia, a kleptocracy run by a web of ultra-wealthy oligarchs surrounding a central spider. That will be a great loss to the world, because, despite its numerous faults the US was at least partly democratic. If something like this is allowed to happen, there will be another American Revolution, and it will be much bloodier than the first.

Sources

  1. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cnn-murdoch-exclusive/exclusive-rupert-murdoch-twice-discussed-cnn-with-att-ceo-sources-idUSKBN1DA2PY
  2. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/11/why-disney-is-eyeing-rupert-murdochs-empire
  3. https://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/29/jared-kushner-inner-circle-confidants-240116
  4. https://www.quora.com/Why-does-Fox-News-support-Donald-Trump
  5. https://www.businessinsider.com.au/what-is-a-bump-fire-stock-legal-does-it-do-2017-10?r=US&IR=T
  6. http://www.blotreport.com/us-politics/joke-economics/

 

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